ways
by lokogato-sama
Summary: Sakura observes. Sasuke and Naruto are oblivious. To their luck or misfortune. A study of the Team 7 dynamic. [SasuNaru]


Loko: We don't dislike Sakura. We respect her tenacity and intelligence. But she's still maturing – which is what makes her interesting. Thus, we figure she might not yet be above a bit of … "innocent" … spying. We know it's been done a million billion times, too, so we're sorry in advance. :apologetic bows:

Summary: Sakura observes. Sasuke and Naruto are oblivious. To their luck or misfortune. A study of the Team 7 dynamic. SasuNaru

Disclaimer:dreamy sighs: We wish … :five minutes later: … we're still wishing.

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ways

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It's in the way they argue endlessly, morning to night, sunrise to sunset, in between when they're conscious, and Sakura's heard them muttering about each other in their sleep.

It keeps her awake, so she stuffs pillows over Naruto's head and tries to imagine Sasuke's voice is intoning "Sakura," even though she isn't sure she enjoys hearing her name employed in the context of "you're useless, dobe …"

It's in the way they shoot heated glares when they have to be quiet, the mouthed threats, the anticipating, welcoming, challenging grins. Flashing white teeth and smirking pale lips.

She's been caught in the crossfire, she _knows_. It burns her from both sides, anger and hatred and desire and friendship, and love, sometimes, but mostly teenage fury.

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It's in the way they spar – Naruto taunting, Sasuke taunting, flickering images coming together in quick sparks and clangs of metal, thuds of flesh. The wrenching screeches of cuts and flying blood flecks, the sounds driving the birds away in a cawing exodus. Sakura wonders if they realize how obvious that makes their location.

It's in the way Sasuke will suddenly reach up from where Naruto's foot pins him to the ground, flashing arms, the way Naruto's caught off balance enough to let Sasuke's hands wrap around his neck. The way Sasuke will stand with Naruto as a pillar, the way he yanks without any attempt at muting the pain, and the way they kiss, deep and bruising and hard, so that they wouldn't notice Sakura unless she fell off her tree.

She wonders if they will be embarrassed if she tells them that they're _so oblivious_ and open to any attack.

But usually she watches, the way they use training even for kissing, holding breaths for the longest possible time, battling for supremacy with tongues and teeth and lips instead of fists and kunai and jutsu. Naruto pushes Sasuke down again, gold on black, and Sakura leaves her branch, because there are some things even she isn't allowed to watch.

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They make a perfect pair, those two, but they're dangerous for each other. Too much fire and not enough moderation – flame against flame, each burning the other instead of melting.

It would be okay if one of them were fire, the other ice, as some have claimed, but that's a lie. Sakura knows: they both burn with passion and hatred, power and love. Everything about the two of them together screams pain. Sakura watches them at meals, sometimes, and knows that Naruto's clumsy, but not clumsy enough to knock Sasuke's wrist every time they both reach out. She knows Sasuke's vengeful, but he's not petty enough to elbow Naruto every time he leans back.

They can't want to _hurt_ each other just to have an excuse to _touch_.

A relationship like theirs needs healing. They don't – sometimes she thinks they _can't_ – heal each other, only hurt, two bundles of raw nerves and flapping emotions hidden cheaply beneath a thin exterior, pain colliding with pain and bringing more.

Sasuke is all pale danger and liquid black death.

Naruto is all golden murder and ice blue loss.

They're on fire, both of them, for vengeance and success, for living and killing, and, _Sakura sees everything because she watches them_, for each other.

And that's why Sakura's needed in this group. To moderate, to form a tiny cooling effect on those flames, to keep them from incinerating themselves together, no matter how hard they try. Words must be softened, meanings clarified, Naruto pushed back, Sasuke pushed down. A haughty holier-than-thou look from Sasuke can birth fury in Naruto, but not if Sakura's there to block it from view with her scolding.

But still, she's a third wheel. They work so well together, fluid, some kind of perfectly oiled machine that breathes and touches and _loves_. And they love Sakura, sure, as a sister. And nothing more. Sometimes, she's in the way.

Sometimes, she realizes that really, she's not needed.

That they were _made_ to destroy each other.

And sometimes, when she's able to admit it, she can see this ultimate destruction, and it burns holes in her chest and _ninja never show emotion_, so she doesn't cry.

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Today, they've wandered off, not meaning anything, collecting wood or _something _too close together. Sakura's following, because they can't afford to hurt each other during a mission.

She's seen them, the two of them, in moments of everything – pain, anger, fury, passion, lust, darkness, dying together.

Still, she's never seen this.

It makes her useless, in the entirely of the word.

And today makes all of those moments where she confesses that they are death to each other infinitesimal against her sudden and complete epiphany.

In the way Sasuke's hands slowly snatch strands of Naruto's gold-bright hair as he lets himself be held against a tree.

In the way one of Naruto's thin, strong hands pushes up Sasuke's shirt, and the other gently tilts Sasuke's head back, plane of palm against angle of jaw.

The way they say nothing and everything in the way they touch.

The trust of _tenderness_.

Tender can mean two things; soothing and kind or agonizing and sore.

Sakura watches, and sees both.

They wince when they touch certain areas, bruises, cuts, scars on Sasuke's neck and tattoo on Naruto's stomach. When fingers brush lips and nails graze skin. They share pain; they revel in pain. Sakura sees only pain. Her heart breaks for both of them, their youth and fear and strength and insecurity and scars and cuts.

And then they kiss.

And then they smile.

And then Sakura sees infinity.

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It's in the way they argue endlessly, morning to night, sunrise to sunset, in between when they're conscious.

It's in the way they shoot heated glares when they have to be quiet, the mouthed threats, the anticipating, welcoming, challenging grins.

The way they kiss.

The way they burn each other – the way each cauterizes the other's wounds.

It's in the way, Sakura finally decides, leaving them, they live.

-owari-

words: 1000

paragraphs: 47

sentences: 61

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A/N: So … yes. Begin thy hunt for 73H Deep Inner Symbolism. Seriously though, there's only a bit of it near the end. First person to find it gets cookies, or drabbles, or full-blown fics … or something. n.n;

For the love of ... SasuNaru ... REVIEW! Please.

lokogato enterprises ltd.

8:20 PM

23-05-05


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